University of Iowa researchers who recreate deep sea sponge molecules for anti-cancer drugs and reprogram human tissue to fight disease are among the recipients of $750,000 in funding from the university to turn their discoveries into businesses.

Known as gap funding, the program provided 11 UI faculty members with money to bridge the gap between their research discoveries and their first commercially relevant results. It’s an important step on the road from laboratory research to start-up business, helping to reduce the technical risks for entrepreneurs looking for capital.

“After years of research, it still takes several more years to commercialize discoveries,” says Paul Dymerski, director of New Ventures in the UI Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development’s UI Ventures program, which awards the grants. “Without the continued support from the university, the state, and investors, it would be even more difficult to move technologies from the lab to the market.”

Zhendong Zin

Among this year’s recipients is Zhedong Jin, professor of medicinal and natural products chemistry, who is reproducing molecules with anti-cancer properties found only in a sea sponge that lives hundreds of feet below the south Pacific. Jin synthesized a truncated version of the molecule that retained all the biological activity of its natural counterpart, but is easier to produce than to harvest from ocean sponges.

Jin says he’s made more than 200 milligrams of the compound and his lab is the only source of supply, besides the sponge. Since the compound is a new, any drug derived from it will be the first of its kind when it advances to clinical trials. It will be licensed through his start-up company, InnoBioPharma.

Brad Amendt

Brad Amendt, professor of anatomy and cell biology, is also developing a therapy to treat cancer and many other diseases. His discovery is a new class of inhibitors that reduce the likelihood of defective microRNA molecules in human cells that can lead to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other health problems. His company, NaturemiRi, develops inhibitors that bind to the microRNA and prevent the defective processes that lead to some types of disease.

UI Ventures will work with the awardees throughout the year to ensure they are moving toward a commercially viable product. The UI Research Foundation (UIRF) will then help to protect and license the discovery to a company or startup that can bring the product or service to market.

“The goal is to put together a strong proposal in the eyes of industry, investors and entrepreneurs so that researchers can receive the funding they need to commercialize of their technologies,” says Dymerski.

Previous gap awardees have gone on to license their technologies through the UIRF or start new ventures based on applications of their research. Tony Vanden Bush, co-founder of Memcine Pharmaceuticals LLC and former research scientist in the UI Department of Microbiology, recently received $3 million in private funding for his vaccine enhancement technology. Tom Peters, associate professor in the UI College of Public Health Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, received gap funding in 2012 and has since licensed his nanoparticle test system to a commercial partner.